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But a recent survey by the Police Federation found that the real figure was closer to 2.4 million, which is more than 100 times more.

Around two million of these attacks were unarmed assaults, including kicks, punches and slaps, but more than 300,000 were attacks with deadly weapons, some of which left officers with life-changing injuries.

Almost 70 per cent of officers who spoke to the Police Federation said that they had been physically assaulted during an unarmed attack in the last 12 months.

Thirty-five per cent of officers said that they had been involved in an unarmed attack at least once a month.